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Old World Warblers (Sylviidae)

Middendorff's Warbler (Locustella ochotensis) - HBW 11, p. 615

French: Locustelle de Middendorff German: Middendorffschwirl Spanish: Buscarla de Middendorff
Other common names: Middendorff’s/Asiatic Grasshopper-warbler

Taxonomy: Sylvia (Locustella) Ochotensis Middendorff, 1853, Udskoye, lower Uda River, Sea of Okhotsk.
Forms a superspecies with L. certhiola and L. pleskei, and has been considered conspecific with one or both. Hybridizes with former in E Russia (in lower Amur area and N Sakhalin), where apparently maintains stable intergrade populations, but elsewhere in range it exhibits a constant and distinctive suite of plumage, voice and behavioural characters. Studies of mitochondrial DNA indicate that all three species and L. fasciolata form a group, and also suggest that Megalurus pryeri is part of this group and should therefore be moved to present genus. Proposed race .. View all taxonomy...

Taxonomy: Sylvia (Locustella) Ochotensis Middendorff, 1853, Udskoye, lower Uda River, Sea of Okhotsk.
Forms a superspecies with L. certhiola and L. pleskei, and has been considered conspecific with one or both. Hybridizes with former in E Russia (in lower Amur area and N Sakhalin), where apparently maintains stable intergrade populations, but elsewhere in range it exhibits a constant and distinctive suite of plumage, voice and behavioural characters. Studies of mitochondrial DNA indicate that all three species and L. fasciolata form a group, and also suggest that Megalurus pryeri is part of this group and should therefore be moved to present genus. Proposed race subcerthiola (Kamchatka and N Kurils, non-breeding Philippines) considered indistinguishable from birds elsewhere in range. Monotypic.

Distribution: Breeds E Russia (coast of Sea of Okhotsk from Magadan S to mouth of R Amur, also Kamchatka), Sakhalin I, Kuril Is and N Japan (N & E Hokkaido); non-breeding Philippines and N Borneo.

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